The present invention relates to steel stud building wall systems and especially to apparatuses for stabilizing steel studs to prevent lateral movement and torsion in such systems.
Many buildings are constructed with steel stud wall framing. When a wall is built with any kind of stud, wood or steel, it is generally desirable to fix sequential studs relative to each other against lateral movement and torsion. In steel-stud walls, an elongated steel bridging member is typically inserted horizontally through pre-punched openings in a series of vertical studs to keep them aligned. Steel studs have excellent columnar strength when they are straight, but a significant portion of that strength is lost if the studs are twisted. Because steel studs are particularly vulnerable to torsion, the bridging members, which are typically channel-shaped, having a horizontal web and two vertical side flanges, are made to closely fit the openings in the vertical studs in order to maximize torque resistance. In additional to mechanical torque, metal studs can twist or bend in response to the heat of a fire when the drywall sheathing, which acts as a firebreak, is destroyed. When metal studs twist or bend, they lose their weight-bearing capacity, multiplying the damage caused directly by fire.
While channel-shaped bridging members closely received in the openings can help restrain the studs from twisting, some twisting can still occur and the studs can still shift or bend parallel to the wall. A variety of sheet metal brackets, beginning with a simple right angle, are used with channel-shaped bridging members to prevent this shifting or bending. These brackets can be connected to the studs and the bridging member by means of separate fasteners, interlocking sections on the bracket that engage one of the studs and the bridging member or a combination of fasteners and interlocking forms.
The prior art also includes short bridging members that span only adjacent studs and have ends tailored for fastening to the wall studs and/or to each other through extensions that are inserted through the openings in the wall studs. These bridging members are typically a fixed length. U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,028, granted to John P. Hughes teaches a system of connecting such short bridging members by forming one end of the web of each bridging member to extend through the opening in the stud and to closely receive the web of the stud on both sides, and then to attach the end of another bridging member to that extension.
The prior art also includes elongated bridging members with a series of slots that allow the bridging member to not only be inserted through the openings in the wall studs but also mate with the web of the wall studs on either side of the openings. U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,219, granted to William L. Elderson, teaches such bridging members. U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,219 also teaches a special bridging member that is designed to connect in this manner to just two side-by-side studs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide bridging members that can be installed quickly in a variety of wall environments and that can form a strong connection that resists both lateral and torsional loads.